4K60P Thousands March in Pro-Palestinian Protest in Toronto Oct 2024

Oct 5 2024 Spadina and College Toronto 6pm
Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses started in 2023 and escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and other countries, as part of wider Israel-Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians.[20] In the U.S. over 3,100 protesters have been arrested,[19] including faculty members and professors,[1][21] on over 60 campuses.[22] On May 7, protests spread across Europe with mass arrests in the Netherlands.[23][24] By May 12, twenty encampments had been established in the United Kingdom, and across universities in Australia and Canada.[25][26] The protests largely ended as universities closed for the summer.[27]
The different protests' varying demands include severing financial ties with Israel, transparency over financial ties, an end to partnerships with Israeli institutions,[28] and amnesty for protesters.[29] Universities have suspended and expelled student protesters, in some cases evicting them from campus housing.[1][30][31] Some universities have relied on police to forcibly disband encampments and end occupations of buildings,[32] others made agreements with protesters for encampments to be dismantled,[33] and a number of universities have cut ties with Israeli institutions, or companies involved with Israel and its occupied territories.[a] The occupations have also resulted in the closure of Columbia University,[40] Cal Poly Humboldt,[41] and the University of Amsterdam;[42] rolling strikes by academic workers on campuses in California;[43] and the cancellation of a few university graduation ceremonies in the U.S., with protests occurring at various ceremonies.[44][45][46]
Over 200 groups have expressed support for the protests,[47] as well as U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, various members of Congress, several labor unions,[48][49][50] hundreds of university staff in the United Kingdom,[51][52] and Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.[53] The police response to the protests has been criticized by some Democrats[54][55][56] and human rights organizations.[57][58] An estimated 8% of college students have participated in protests,[59] 97% of protests have remained nonviolent,[60] and 28-40% of Americans support the protests with 42-47% opposed.[61][62] The protests have been compared to the anti-Vietnam and 1968 protests.[63][64]
Supporters of Israel and some Jewish students have raised concerns about antisemitic incidents at or around the protests,[65] prompting condemnations of the protests from leaders including President Joe Biden,[29] Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte,[66] and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu;[67] as well as concern from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese[68] and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.[69] Students and faculty members who have participated in the protests, some of whom are Jewish, have said the protests are not antisemitic
Protests, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils related to the Israel-Hamas war have occurred across the U.S. since the conflict's start on October 7, 2023, alongside other Israel-Hamas war protests around the world. Pro-Palestinian protesters criticized U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel and Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip and its war conduct, which some called a genocide.[73][74]
Students occupying administrative buildings were arrested at the request of college administrators at Brown University in November[75] and December 2023,[76] and at Pomona College on April 5, 2024.[77] In March 2024,[78] after protesters occupied the president's office at Vanderbilt University, the university suspended students and expelled three. These were "believed to be the first student expulsions over protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict", according to The New York Times